Real estate agents and rental providers will be blocked from advertising rental properties without a fixed price, thanks to a partnership between Consumer Affairs Victoria’s Renting Taskforce and property website operators, REA Group and Domain.
Their platforms – realestate.com.au and domain.com.au, have now been upgraded in response to calls from our Renting Taskforce.
Now rental providers and agents will not be able to list rental properties unless they use a single, fixed price. This keeps prices transparent for renters and helps rental providers and agents stay on the right side of the rental bidding laws.
In Victoria, rental properties must be advertised with a fixed price under rental bidding protections introduced in the 2021 rental law reforms.
Advertising a rental property with a vague price range or without a price is harmful to renters because it encourages offers of rental bidding.
The Renting Taskforce has been cracking down on non-compliant advertisements, conducting market sweeps and inspections, issuing numerous official warnings and sending communications to estate agents across the state to remind them of the legal requirements.
In 2024-25, the taskforce issued more than 50 infringements totalling over $600,000 to rental providers and agents who did not advertise a rental property with a fixed price. The taskforce also took criminal prosecutions against 5 estate agencies for this offence.
This change at the advertising stage guarantees clear prices for renters, helps the taskforce use its resources more efficiently and prevents estate agencies from making potentially costly mistakes in the first place.
New reforms coming into effect on 25 November will outlaw all remaining types of rental bidding. Agents and rental providers will be banned not only from soliciting offers of increased rent from potential renters, but also from accepting any unsolicited offers from them. The renting taskforce will actively monitor the new laws.